Description
Book SynopsisThis book explains why countries have adopted different policies for working parents through a comparative historical study of four nations: France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States.
Trade Review"Combining masterfully historical institutionalist and feminist approaches to welfare state scholarship in comparative perspective, Morgan... provides a rich and highly prescient analysis of the politics of gender and the state over time—one which links the past, present and future in both a scholarly and applied way... [Her] book is an outstanding contribution to a burgeoning scholarship on gender, religion and politics, and the welfare state that should be on the shelf of every scholar who works on these issues and be adopted into a wide variety of curricula." --
Journal of Women, Politics and Policy"From the politics of child care in France to the consolidation of the private market model in America,
Working Mothers and the Welfare State astutely dissects each implementation, exposing its strengths and weaknesses as well as its implications for future generations of mothers and children. A thoroughly researched critical examination especially recommended for women's studies shelves."
The Bookwatch"In this rich historical and comparative analysis, Morgan illuminates the ways religion—both historic cleavages as well as contemporary orientations—has entered policymaking and partisan politics with profound consequences for how we structure our collective arrangements for care, employment, welfare, and gender." -- Ann Shola Orloff * Northwestern University *
"The book is well written and modest in length, yet full of details." --
CHOICE"This is a terrific book: concise, well written, and packed with useful information on cases that will be of great interest to readers. Morgan's argument about the centrality of the religious cleavage, taking a page from Stein Rokkan, will become a touchstone in discussions of the origins of policies towards women's employment and the welfare state." -- Jonah D. Levy, University of California * Berkeley *
"This bold and original study makes an important contribution to the literatures on gender and social policy in (and across) several disciplines. Morgan offers a richly documented account of the history and current state of policies toward wage-earning mothers, focusing primarily on child care, in four nations: France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. Sweeping and persuasive, the comparison reveals previously hidden nuances of policy and shows, surprisingly, that religion played a major role in all four cases.
Working Mothers and the Welfare State belongs on every reading list." -- Sonya Michel * University of Maryland *
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Chapter One. The Politics of Mothers' Employment Chapter Two. The Religious Origins of the Gendered Welfare State Chapter Three. The Politics of Mothers' Employment Policy During the "Golden Age" of the Welfare State, 1945-1975 Chapter Four. The Politics of Child Care and Parental "Choice" in Sweden and France, 1975- present Chapter Five. The Consolidation of the Private Market Model in the United States Chapter Six. Openings for Change? The Politics of Mothers' Employment in the Netherlands Conclusion. The Future of Work and Family Policies Notes Index
